Blocked gutters can spell trouble for homeowners

Rain, rain and more rain! That’s often what we can expect during one of the rainiest months in one of the rainiest counties in Washington. Water can be one of your home’s biggest enemies with the lowly (or not so lowly) gutter being your first line of defense.

According to “The Old Farmer’s Almanac,” for 2026, this February could also bring our area some snow, most likely near the beginning of the month.

Whether the weather brings rain or snow, it’s important you and your home are prepared to handle it.

Lend a helping hand

For starters, we often say this, but if you live in one of Grays Harbor’s cities and are able bodied, make it your goal to help keep the streets clear by cleaning out plugged storm drains near your home. Our city crews are great, but with all the rain and all the leaves, they can use a hand clearing the debris.

Make sure to put some work gloves on and then scoop up the leaves and garbage away from the grate and into a garbage sack. This will help keep our streets safer for drivers and pedestrians alike.

Clear those gutters!

Like a leaky roof, leaky or plugged gutters only matter when it rains. But, as we stated before, it rains a lot and it is a lot easier to clear and fix your gutters on a nice day than in the rain!

When was the last time you unplugged your gutters and downspouts? The trees lost their leaves so late this year that you may still have leaves or moss built up in your gutters. Plus, we’ve had some mighty wind storms that could have blown all sorts of debris onto your roof and gutters.

 Not to be overly dramatic, but a plugged gutter or downspout really can do all kinds of damage. For instance, water trapped can overflow onto the fascia board or even the soffit, causing them to rot. An overflow can also damage the side of the house – easily staining stucco, but even causing some stains to wood or other siding materials.

Believe it or not, water from an overflowing gutter can find its way all the way down to the home’s foundation, causing damage – a potentially very expensive fix!  

If you happen to have steel gutters, water habitually pooled there can cause rust, making the gutters fail and causing some of the issues already listed. The weight of water, soggy leaves and other material can even cause the gutter to break away from the house!

Cleaning out your gutters regularly can save you so much time and trouble! We get it that it’s a hassle, but so is replacing your gutters, replacing rotten fascia boards, repainting stained siding, and dealing with water seepage into the house, for starters!

Do we need to convince you any further?

So, pick a clear day, if you can, to take a look at your gutters. If you are using an extension ladder, always use a ladder stand-off for safety’s sake. If you are no longer able to do this job yourself, there are roofers and handymen that will often be willing to tackle it for you, and it will be money well spent.

Remember, it’s not just the gutters that need help at our homes. Each downspout needs to have a 2-foot long splash block or, better yet, a pipe extension to convey the rainwater 8 to 10 feet away from your foundation or basement. We oftentimes see the downspouts come straight down from the gutter and dump water directly onto the foundation and under the house!  This just makes problems for the future and the fix is relatively easy.

In addition, it’s important to clean out any driveway drain boxes you may have and make sure they drain properly at the edge of your property leading safely toward a street storm drain. Adding a mesh screen keeps debris out of the system, but should be cleaned regularly.

Assess your landslide risk

If you live on or at the toe of one of the many hill areas of Grays Harbor, you need to be especially aware of what heavy rain can mean to your home and nearby properties. It’s been a few years now, but indelible memories of major landslides remain fresh for many.

The key for homeowners is to do what you can to get as much water directed away from your house and land, but in a storm-safe manner, through grated collection boxes, pipes, French drains, swale drainage measures and even shallow ditches. Capture, control and slow release toward the city’s storm drain system is a best practice that respects every property along the way.

Keep the moisture out!

It feels nearly impossible lately to keep up with the wet raingear and wet pets that bring water into your house. Towel dry what you can. And keep the wet gear out in the garage or mudroom if possible. It doesn’t sound like much, but all that water seeps into the subfloor of your house and can lead to mold and rot.

Having good doormats and floor mats – both inside and out – can prevent a lot of dirt from coming inside as well as soak up water that can otherwise create inside moisture issues.

And remember, use your fans in the bathroom, laundry room and kitchen – and keep them on for a full 10 to 15 minutes after you are done cooking, showering or doing the laundry. This will help clear the moisture out of the air. Trapped moisture is your home’s top enemy!

.

Eric Bjella is the executive director of NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor; a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe and affordable housing opportunities for all residents of Grays Harbor County. For questions about home repair, housing counseling, homebuyer education and financing, call 360-533-7828, listen to the extension picks that will best help you and leave a callback name and number.